Acts 20 Leaving a Lasting Impact

Intro:

Gen Z isn’t concerned about religious affiliation but they want to be mentored in the faith

The State of Religion & Young People 2020,” a new study by the Springtide Research Institute, collected data from over 10,000 surveys and over 150 interviews with young people ages 13–25

Today’s young people are the “loneliest of any generation,” the study found, with 60% saying they feel “very isolated.”

69% of surveyed individuals who have one adult mentor reported that their life has meaning and purpose.

A staggering 85% who have two to four adult mentors and 91% of those who have five or more adult mentors said their life has meaning and purpose.

We have this massive opportunity to make a lasting impact on the next generation by discipling them

Titus 2 shows us a model of how older men and women are to “teach” the younger

Paul shows us today how to have a lasting impact

Read Acts 20:7-10

Transition:

If one were to ask the question, “What are the most important qualities of a minister of Jesus Christ?” he would expect to receive a list of several.

Skill in preaching and teaching, boldness, and godliness are among the foundational qualities that must be enumerated. Shepherding ability, wise oversight, and the ability to work with people are also crucial.

Behind all those qualities must be love; love for the Lord, love for the truth, and love for the church—not the organization but the people.

Such love, flowing from devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ and the Word of God, marks all those who exercise noble leadership in the church.

There have always been dedicated pastors who sacrificed in life and death for the church. It was love for the church that drove the busy Reformers Luther and Calvin to preach constantly to their flocks—not merely on Sundays, but throughout the week.

Many Puritan pastors continued to preach the Word after being forbidden to do so by the authorities. They knew they risked being imprisoned (as was John Bunyan), but love for the church compelled them to take that risk.

Love for the church consumed the godly nineteenth-century Scottish pastor Robert Murray McCheyne. Ill health could not deter him from his loving service, and, consequently, he died at a young age. It was his love for the church that motivated

Church history is replete with examples of those who sacrificially loved the church. Yet no man has ever loved the church more than the apostle Paul.

I. Finish Strong Vs. 1-16

If you are going to leave a lasting impact you need to finish strong

As we get older in life we think we to shut things down but in reality our focus needs to switch to pouring into others

vs. 1-6 Tying up Loose Ends

The first six verses of this chapter are about Paul wrapping up his third missionary trip and preparing to go back to Jerusalem

He departs Ephesus for the last time and heads to Macedonia and encourages the churches

Then he heads to Greece and spends three months with them

His intention is to sail from Greece to Israel but learns of a plot to kill him on the boat

So heads by foot back through Macedonia where he spends Passover in Philippi

He had a large group of people from all of his churches traveling with him

He sends them ahead to Troas where he will meet them and they will all sail to Israel in hopes of getting there in time for Pentecost

Paul is doing this because he is tying up lose ends

Those who make a lasting impact cross their T’s and dot their i’s

They don’t leave issues or people hanging wondering what is going on

Paul knew that this was going to be the last time he saw most of these people

He wanted to give them parting words and encouragement and say goodbye

When God calls us to do something He calls us to complete the work

Leaving something before it is completed gives you nagging feeling of unfinished business and leaves the people with a lot of unanswered questions

vs. 7-12 Burning the Midnight Oil

Notice how vs. 7 says they met on the first day of the week

This is the first recorded worship service

They were meeting on a Sunday

To leave a lasting impact you may need to burn the midnight oil

Paul arrives in Troas

Troas is a city in Turkey on the Aegean shore, 10 miles south of the ancient site of Troy, scene of the Trojan war immortalized by the poet Homer.

He doesn’t have much time with them because he is sailing out early the next morning

It’s amazing how often we use time as an excuse not to do something

He gathers with the church to break bread and then he teaches them

His teaching goes on till midnight

One young man named Eutychus fell into a deep sleep and falls out a third story window

When Paul gets to him he is dead but Paul takes him in his arm and prays for him and he comes back to life

Paul then proceeds to go back upstairs and teach until the morning

Paul wasn’t afraid to burn the midnight oil so that he could pour into people

I’m always amazed at some of the excuses people make for not being used by God

“Pastor, I can’t make it to a night Bible study because I’m in bed by 7:30.”

What I want to say is “Your social media shows you posting at 11pm.”

vs. 13-16 Focused on the Mission

Paul was able to have a lasting impact because he focused on the mission

Paul’s traveling party gets on the boat but Paul remains and meets them in Assos

Some speculate that Paul wanted to ensure the health of Eutychus before he left and then he took a shortcut to Assos

He meets up with his group and they sail on to Miletus.

Here is where the focus comes in

It would’ve been easy for Paul to go to Ephesus because it

II. Pass the Torch Vs. 17-38

The second emphasis we see in leaving a lasting impact is that we have to pass the torch

Paul has his final encounter with the leadership of the church of Ephesus

He gives us 3 keys to passing the Torch

vs. 17-21 Serve with Humility

You know how I lived vs. 17-19a

Paul’s ship sailed into Miletus

He was on his way to Jerusalem, bringing an offering from the Gentile churches for the needy in the Jerusalem church.

By so doing he hoped to ease their physical burden, as well as to cement the spiritual bond between Jews and Gentiles in the church.

The ship on which he and his companions were traveling had made a stopover at Miletus, on the coast of Asia Minor thirty miles south of Ephesus.

From there, Paul sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church.

It was easier for the Elders to come to him than Paul sail into Ephesus where he would be required to stay for several weeks

When the Elders get there Paul reminds them of how he ministered to them

Paul set the example to the Elders

I don’t have to tell you how I lived because I have shown you

Everyone needs a model to follow so that they can in turn be a model for others

Live in such a way where you actions speak long before you open your mouth

Ministered thru Trials & Tears vs. 19b

Paul then goes on to tell them how he ministered through trials and tears

In each church in Asia he was persecuted

He was stoned and left for dead and chased out of most cities

Paul was heavily invested and it cost him but He considered it a small price to pay for benefit of following Jesus

If you are going to make a lasting impact you need to invest your life

It will bring some pain and tears but the blessing will far exceed the cost

Did not Shrink vs. 20

Paul also left a lasting impact because he didn’t shrink back

When people wanted Paul’s neck he charged towards them instead of running away

Last week we saw how he wanted to charge into the amphitheater

Pouring into other people is not for the faint at heart

You can’t be a complainer

Preached Faith & Repentance vs. 21

Paul’s whole goal was to reach the lost and raise up disciples

He did this by preaching repentance and Teaching them to live by faith

vs. 22-25 Finish the Course

A person who makes a lasting impact finishes the course

Constrained by the Spirit vs. 22-23

Constrained means to be bound

He knew that he was bound to go to Jerusalem and it wasn’t going to end good

That is what made him avoid Israel because God was telling him to go to Jerusalem

Often, when you are being led by the Spirit it doesn’t make sense to anyone else.

He knew that imprisonment and affliction was waiting for him

Most people will think you are nuts if you head straight into

Don’t Count My Life of Value vs. 24

Testify to the Grace of God vs. 24b-25

vs. 26-38 Instructions to the Leaders

Teach the Whole Counsel of God’s Word vs. 26-27

Made You Overseers vs. 28-30

Build Others thru the Word vs. 31-32

Work Hard vs. 33-35

More Blessed to Give than Receive vs. 36